The new cultivar was discovered as part of a planned breeding program directed by the inventor, Kris Jarantoski. The parent varieties are unidentified, as the variety resulted from an open pollination and mass collected seed from breeding blocks including several varieties of Vitex hybrida plants. The seed parent is and unnamed, unpatented variety of Vitex agnus-castus. The pollen parent is an unnamed, unpatented variety of Vitex rotundifolia. This crossing was made during Summer of 1994. The new variety was selected September of 1995 at a botanic garden in Glencoe, Ill.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘HELEN FROEHLICH’ by semi-softwood vegetative cuttings was first performed in July of 1998 at a research nursery in Glencoe, Ill. The inventor has confidentially reviewed plant performance over several years. Subsequent propagation has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations. Date of first sale was Jul. 1, 2018, in the United States. This sale was made directly by the inventor or one who obtained the claimed invention directly or indirectly from the inventor. This sale and all public disclosures made before the filing of this application fall within the exception allowed under 102(b)(1).